POINT OF NO RETURN
"S.O.S. This is the Prescott. Maximum Burn. Repeat. We are out of Fuel.
Velocity is Mark 5. Current Position 90.5-42-6.3. Bearing 34.7-78.9-69.2.
We've reached the point of no return. Someone come & get us..."
---Commander Randal F. Graves, Last Transmission---
INTRODUCTION
Spaceship combat using simple vector movement & inertia
MAP
Use a Hex map with a star field background
CHITS
Chits or counters are used to indicate the position of planets, ships, and
other objects on the map
Players may want to use chits to indicate velocity, fuel, missles, and damage
SHIP RECORD SHEETS
Each ship should have its own record sheet with the following data:
Ship Name, Captains Name, Allegience, History
Crew number, experience, and morale
Hull Points, Cost, List of All systems
Number of Fuel Tanks & Missles carried
Velocity, Systems damaged
The records will be altered during play as the ship uses up fuel & missles,
and sustains damage
TURN SEQUENCE
1-Navigation Phase
2-Launch Missles Phase
3-Gun Phase
4-Missle Strike Phase
5-Damage Control Phase
6-Resupply & Repair Phase
7-Docking Phase
8-Victory Phase
NOTES
All sides act in each phase
All actions in a phase are considered simultaneous except for Navigation Phase
1-NAVIGATION PHASE
Start with the fleet with the fewest ships
Players take turns moving one ship at a time
Move larger ships before moving smaller ships
Ship can burn one fuel tank per engine per turn
The Burn can be used for 3 things: Acceleration, Deceleration, or Turning
(De)Acceleration changes velocity by one hex per turn per burn
If used for Turning, the ships facing is turned 60 degrees per burn
Turns can take place at any point during the move
A ships velocity can be indicated by a marker chit
A ship must always move a number of hexes equal to its velocity
Movement is always in the direction the ship is facing
Ships at 0 velocity may change their facing for free
Ships that leave the map are lost forever
2-LAUNCH MISSLES PHASE
A ship can launch one missle per launcher per turn
Missles have a range of up to two hexes
Declare launches & Targets
Only one target per computer is allowed
Multiple missles may have the same target. They all make seperate attack rolls
3-GUN PHASE
Guns include beam & projectile weapons such as:
Lasers, Particle Accelerators, Rail Guns, & Plasma Generators
Lasers can fire at ships or incoming missles in the same hex (Range = 0)
Particle Accelerators, Plasma Generators, & Rail Guns cannot target missles
Particle Accelerators have a range of 1 Hex
Rail Guns have a range of 2 Hexes
Rail guns are forward facing, they can only fire into the 2 hexes in front of the ship
Plasma Generators have a range of 0. They use up a fuel tank when they fire
Only one target ship (or missle) per computer is allowed
Multiple guns may have the same target. They all make seperate attack rolls
All attack declarations for all guns are made before any resolutions are made
GUN ATTACK TABLE
D6 RESULT
1 Miss
2 Reflected
3 Surface Damage
4 Noncritical Puncture
5-6 Target Hit- Use Damage Table or Laser Destroys Incoming Missle
+1 to roll if target stationary
-1 to roll if target velocity is 3 or greater
-2 to roll if target velocity is 5 or greater
Plasma Generators get a +3 to rolls on this table
Treat a ‘noncritical puncture' result as a ‘Target Hit' result against
converted or nonmilitary targets
4-MISSLE STRIKE PHASE
Roll on the missle attack table for all missles not shot down by lasers
MISSLE ATTACK TABLE
D10 RESULT
1-3 Miss
4-5 Near Miss
6 Launch Abort- Targeting computers Hesitate. Missle Does not launch
7+ Target Hit- Use Damage Table
NOTES
Smart missles have a +1 to rolls on the Missle Attack Table
+2 to roll if target stationary
-1 to roll if target velocity is 3 or greater
-2 to roll if target velocity is 5 or greater
DAMAGE TABLE
D6 RESULT
1-3 1D6 Cargo bays Destroyed (or half as much Armor, rounded up)
4-5 1D10 Cargo bays Destroyed (or half as much Armor, rounded up)
6 Critical damage or 1 Superstructure point destroyed
NOTES
Armor is destroyed before cargo bays
Empty cargo bays are destroyed before others
Cargo bays containing missles are destroyed before those containing fuel tanks
If no Cargo Bays are left, roll on the critical damage table
Cargo Bays will of course be carrying cargo on transport ships
On other nonmilitary vessels replace the cargo bay results with scilabs,
crew quaters, luxury pods, or whatever is most common
Only spacestations & ground installations have Superstructure points
1 Superstructure point is equivalent to 100 Cargo bays or Hull points
If a Nuclear missle hits roll 8 times on the Damage Table
If a Railgun hits roll 2 times on the Damage Table
CRITICAL DAMAGE TABLE
D10 RESULT
1 Engine Damaged
2 Computer Damaged
3 Living Quaters Damaged- Automatically Kills crew or passengers
4 Launcher Damaged
5 Sensor Suite Damaged
6 Nonessential System Damaged- Lifeboat, SciLab
7 Gun Damaged- Laser, Particle Accelerator, Rail Gun, Plasma Generator
8 Power Grid Damaged- Ship can take no actions until this system repaired
9 Directional Thrusters Damaged- Ship cannot turn
10 Ship destroyed in a spectacular explosion
NOTES
Reroll if target system has already been damaged
Damaged systems do not function
5-DAMAGE CONTROL PHASE
If a ship did not burn or attack this turn a crew may attempt to repair one damaged
engine, computer, launcher, lifeboat, laser, sensor suite, or scilab
DAMAGE CONTROL TABLE
D6 RESULT
1-2 Total Loss. The system must be replaced at a port with shipbuilding facilities (Repay MC cost)
3 Extensive Damage. System can only be fixed at port
4 Too soon to tell. Try again next turn
5 System requires two turns to fix
6 Minor Damage. System repaired
6-RESUPPLY & REPAIR PHASE
Ships docked at a station may replinish their supplies of fuel & missles in this phase
Pay in megacredits for these items from the facilities supply surplus
They may also make repairs at this time if repair crews are available
Roll on Damage Control table to determine if the damage is total loss
Recalculate Supply totals of Repair facilities
Ships docked with each other may also trade cargos & crews in this phase
REPAIR FACILITIES
Space stations, bases, and colonies have the following stats:
Docking Bays- The number of ships that may dock with the base at one time
Repair Crews- The number of damaged systems that can be replaced or repaired per turn
Superstructure Points- Units of Damage. Each point lost is a whole
section of the structure destroyed
Supply Surplus- Megacredits available that can be spent on replacing
Fuel tanks, Missles, Crews, and Systems
Resupply- Megacredits generated or recieved per turn
Defenses- Numbers of guns, missles, launchers, computers, and sensors
Laserarcs- Number of lasers that can be used against targets in any one 60 degree arc
Ground targets can only attack or be attacked from 3 arcs (The planet shields thier other arcs)
7-DOCKING PHASE
Ships may automatically dock with satelites, space stations, and friendly ships in the same
hex, only if both vessels are at the same velocity and facing
Space stations and satelites face all directions
Undocking also occurs in this phase
Enemy ships with no ability to move or fight may also be boarded
and will automatically surrender
Disabled ships may be towed at no detriment to the tower
A ship may make up to 2 docking connections, one per airlock it has
If two or more ships are docked together only 1 of them may use their weapons
Ships docked to space stations may not fire their weapons
8-VICTORY PHASE
Each scenario will specify victory conditions
LIFEBOATS
These are launched in Navigation Phase
They can carry 1 crew to safety
If hit they are automatically destroyed
They carry no weapons
They have one small engine and enough fuel for 3 burns
SCENARIOS
Use the following rules for designing ships
DESIGNING & BUILDING SHIPS
ITEM HULL COST CARGO NOTES
Hull --- 1 --- 1 per other system required
Living Quaters 1 2 --- Any damage kills crew in that module
Crew --- 4 --- Located in living quaters
Power Grid --- 2 --- Only 1 per ship
Computer 1 3 --- Only 1 target per computer
Engine 1 3 --- 1 Burn per turn
Directional Thrusters --- 2 --- Only 1 per ship
Airlock 1 1 --- Allows 1 Docking connection
Cargo Bay 1 --- --- Holds Missles & Fuel Tanks
Fuel Tank --- 1 1 Stored in cargo
Sensor Suite 1 3 --- A ship cannot target without sensors
Launcher 1 3 --- Fires 1 Missle per turn
Missle --- 1 1 Stored in cargo
Smart Missle --- 2 1 Stored in cargo, do not require a computer to target
Nuclear Missle --- 10 1 Smart Missle + Extra Damage
Laser 1 3 --- Attack 1 target per turn, unlimited ammo; Range=0
Particle Accelerator 2 7 --- (PA)Attack 1 target per turn, unlimited ammo; Range=1
Rail Gun 3 10 --- (RG)Attack 1 target per turn, unlimited ammo; Range=2
Plasma Generator 1 3 --- (PG)Attack 1 target per turn, Range=0
Lifeboat 1 4 --- Evacuates 1 crew
Armor 1 1 --- Counts as 2 Cargo bays on Damage Table
Scilab 1 3 --- These are always destroyed before computers or sensors
Luxury Pod 1 2 --- These are always destroyed before crew quaters
NOTES
Cost is in monetary units called Megacredits
The Hull column indicates how many Hull spaces the system occupies
A ship must have at least 1 hull point per system
Hull points not occupied by systems are automatically considered to be cargo
The Cargo column indicates how many cargo bays the material occupies
All ships must have (The Basic System Package):
1 crew quaters, 1 computer, 1 engine, 1 sensor suite, 1 power grid, 1 directional thrusters, 1 airlock
Every ship also needs several cargo bays for holding fuel tanks
Building extra basic systems gives the added advantage that if a system is damaged there is a backup
Ships of hull size 100-199 must burn 2 fuel tanks to (de)accelerate (or turn) once
Ships of hull size 200-299 must burn 3 fuel tanks to (de)accelerate (or turn) once
Large warships are known as dreadnaughts
Ships cannot be built or upgraded during battles
SCENARIO: THE TYCHO IMPERATIVE
Background- Political prisoners from a detention center on the moon have gained control of
Tycho Base, a European Commonwealth mining colony and have demanded sovereignty.
Negotiations lasting several months have failed.
The New Tycho leadership has gained support from various African & South American Nations
War ships from several commonwealth countries have been gathering at the L5 colony
The Europeans are split on the decision whether to attack
Either side will quikly give up if the war starts going against them
Use the following victory conditions:
ACTION VICTORY POINTS NOTES
Destroy enemy Warship 1
Damage colony 2 Per 1 Superstructure point
Any Colony 50% damaged Automatic Win
One side will surrender if the other leads by 4+ Victory points or destroys all their Warships
SETUP: THE TYCHO IMPERATIVE
Map: The Moon should be in the middle. Tycho may be attacked from the 3 bottom hex arcs
L4 & L5 should be at opposite ends of the Map
Earth is not on the map. New Tycho will not directly attack Earth
Ships start at their colonies
All ships automatically have: 1 crew, 1 launcher, & The Basic System package
All remaining Hull spaces are empty cargo bays that may be loaded with a mix of
missles and/or fuel tanks during setup using the spacestation starting supplies
NEW TYCHO FORCES
NAME TYPE HULL NOTES
Afrikanner African Warship 50 3 Launchers, 2 Computers, 1 PAgun
Zulu African Warship 40 2 Launchers, 10 Armor
Alkatraz Converted Freighter 30 5 Plasma Generators, 2 Engines
Freedom Converted Tanker 40 25 Cargo Bays only carry Fuel tanks
Elba Converted Passenger Ship 30 10 Crew Quaters, 3 Lifeboats, 2 Luxury pods
Justice Converted Rescue Ship 20 2 Engines, 3 Crew Quaters, 1 Lifeboat, 2 Airlocks
Porto Captured Warship 30 2 Lasers, 5 Armor
Tresspass Converted Yacht 20 2 Engines, 2 Luxury pods
Nostros Converted Science Vessel 20 2 Computers, 2 Sensors, 3 Scilabs
El Grande South American Warship 40 2 Launchers, 2 Engines, 5 Armor, 1RailGun
Brazil South American Warship 20 2 Launchers, 2 Lasers, 2 Computers
EUROPEAN COMMONWEALTH FORCES
The Europeans have to defend L4 and L5
NAME TYPE HULL NOTES
Saxon Warship 50 10 Armor, 4 Lasers, 2 computers, 2 Engines
Milan Warship 40 4 Launchers, 10 Smart Missles
Spaniard Warship 40 10 Armor, 3 PAGuns, 2 Crew Quaters, 2 Cews
Napoleon Warship 60 10 Armor, 3 Engines, 2 Railguns
Joan of Arc Warship 60 20 Armor, 2 Lasers, 2 computers, 2 Engines, PGGun
Berlinner Warship 80 4 Launchers, 4 Computers, 30 Armor, 4 Lasers, Railgun
SPACE STATIONS NEW TYCHO L4 L5 NOTES
Docking Bays 6 4 4
Repair Crews 10 10 10
Launchers 4 6 6
Laserarcs 6 5 5
Computers 8 10 10
Superstructure Points 14 6 6
Starting Supplies 200 100 100
Resupply Rate 6 10 10
Shipbuilding Facilities No No No For a longer game allow ship construction
